BGSU men’s soccer (0-1-1) suffered its first loss of the season on Sunday night in Indiana, falling 1-0 to the Butler Bulldogs (1-0-1).

The Bulldogs got the game-winning goal in the second half of the match with a strike from Aiden Benitez from inside the penalty box in the 75th minute that found the top-right corner of the net.

Bowling Green suffered two red cards in the match, leaving the Orange and Brown to finish the game with nine men. Junior midfielder Andrew Shaffer was sent off in the first half with a handball on the goal-line in the 12′. Butler was awarded a penalty kick, but Josemir Gomez blasted it over the crossbar, keeping it 0-0 for the time being.

In the 87th minute, graduate student defender Giovanni Soares received a red card for ‘violent conduct’ after tangling with Butler’s Gomez. 

Bowling Green was outshot on the night, 21-5 in favor of Butler. With only registering one shot in the first half, compared to the Bulldogs’ 11.

After making his second straight start for BG. Junior goalkeeper Enzo Gil made eight saves on the night, including five in the first 45′ and two late in the second half to keep the Falcons in the match.

A match where the Falcons had two players sent off, the Orange and Brown committed 19 fouls, while Butler had 12. The Bulldogs also had 10 corner-kicks, while BG had just one. 

Senior forward Trace Terry led Bowling Green with three shots on the night, with one shot on goal in his second straight 90-minute performance.

The Falcons are now winless in their first two games to start the year, and will have two more road games before they return to Cochrane Stadium.

Next up, Bowling Green travels south on I-75 to face the Wright State Raiders (0-1-0) in the I-75 Cup derby in Dayton on Thursday, Aug. 27, with kick-off set for 7:00 p.m. at Alumni Field at Rinzler Student Sports Complex.